Guardian (Part I): Last Winter

Chapter 7: Connor

"You're a dead man, Connor," the Tuatha hissed, as she jumped from the balcony, landing on the floor of the chamber standing up straight. She sounded like we had met somewhere, but I hardly recognized her. I had only met a single Tuatha in my time as a Guardian, and I killed him. With a closer look at the one Ruth and I were facing, I recognized her. She was the daughter of the one I killed!

"You've met before?" asked Ruth.

"I've met her father," I corrected. "And killed him."

"Uh-oh," Ruth whispered. We both knew that Tuatha were the embodiment of hatred, anger, and evil. I killed this one's father. She hadn't forgotten it, and she wouldn't forgive me until I was dead. She rushed towards me and Ruth as fast as she could, swinging her black warhammer with all her strength. Ruth blasted waved her hand upward, bringing a large ice spike from the ground at the Tuatha. She dodged every one of Ruth's icicles, then I rushed forward, swinging my greatsword. I felt like the ground shook every time our weapons clashed. My sword was from my own light, and this Tuatha's warhammer came from her own darkness, and she was darkness. I could feel immense force behind both of our attacks as our weapons clashed repeatedly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ruth charging a blast of lightning with her fingertips. I knew what to do next. I threw the Tuatha into the wall of the cathedral with an aura blast, while Ruth unleashed her blast of lightning. The wall cracked with the force of my aura blast and Ruth's lightning blast against her, but when she fell to the floor, she immediately pulled herself to her feet and charged at us again. I knew then that she was very angry. I didn't have to sense the anger from her to tell, but I still did.

"Well, she definitely won't stop coming until you're dead," Ruth warned. "Come on." She warped away as the Tuatha raised her dark warhammer again. It crashed against my aura blade when I raised it to keep the hammer from hitting me, knocking it out of my hand. The blade faded, and the Tuatha took another swing. I ducked my head, barely dodging the swing from the hammer, then I formed my aura blade again and swung it at her head as Ruth blasted an icy mist from her hands in some attempt to slow her down. After the swing that I dodged, it seemed to be working. The Tuatha was slowing down, and couldn't move at her normal speed with ice encasing her flesh, covering her red skin.

"Keep it up," I encouraged, forming my aura blade. I walked up to the Tuatha and raised my greatsword, hoping to take her head off. As I raised the blade, though, I saw this Tuatha's hands began to glow a bright red. I wrapped my arms around Ruth and slammed an aura dome down above us both. A rush of black flame came from the Tuatha's entire body. It darkened the entire chamber of the cathedral, and all I could see was the darkness of the Abyssal flames. Ruth and I would have been turned to ash if I hadn't brought an aura dome over us. The dark fire didn't seem to be scratching it, but I wouldn't bring it down until the flames stopped. Even after a few moments, the black fire still refused to cease. Suddenly, though, there was a crack in my aura dome. It was from the Tuatha's warhammer. Before I let her hit the dome again, I unleashed an aura blast in every direction out from myself. The flames stopped as the Tuatha was thrown into the stone wall of the cathedral. If she would have broken through my aura dome, she would have burned Ruth and myself alive. I stepped forward with my aura blade, raising it to swing at the Tuatha's head. As I was about to bring it down, she thrust the pommel of her warhammer behind her, with enough strength to shatter my aura shield. I then felt the head of the hammer crash against my chest, denting my armor, and undoubtedly cracking a few ribs. I was thrown back to Ruth, who looked down at me in horror before rushing at the Tuatha with her own aura blade. Hopefully, she was drained from using the black flame blast that almost killed us. She seemed to put up no fight against Ruth other than raising the shaft of her hammer in a pathetic attempt to defend herself. She was exhausted. Ruth swung her rapier sideways, and a streak of green light followed behind the thin blade as it took the demon's head clean off her shoulders. I gave a deep sigh of relief, feeling the Tuatha's darkness fade, and seeing her head roll across the ground, with black blood bleeding from the stump of its neck.

"Gods," I cursed. I was lying on the floor, clutching my throbbing chest as tightly as I could. My armor absorbed most of the impact from the cursed warhammer, so no serious damage was done, but whenever I curled my torso to try and stand, I stung with pain.

"Ow!" I cried.

"Connor," Ruth gasped, rushing to me as fast as she could. I knew that I couldn't heal a wound from a black weapon, so I didn't bother trying, but Ruth laid her healing hands on my chest to try.

"It won't heal, Ruth," I denied. "But it won't kill me, either."

"No, it won't," Ruth agreed. "I'll call for medical transport."

"I'll do it," I declared. "They'll recognize your voice instantly." Ruth handed me her radio, and I began to talk through it to reach Idrasyll's air control center.

"Idrasyll Air Control, this is Captain Connor Brown," I began. "I need a medevac in the Cathedral of Ordan to the south. I have blunt force trauma to my upper chest, and probably a few cracked ribs from a Tuatha's hammer. Copy?"

"Copy, Captain Brown," Control responded. "Help is on the way."

"Thank you very much," I said. "Over and out." I cut the transmission and handed the radio back to Ruth. I tried to sit up again, but Ruth put her hand on my chest and pushed me down.

"Not yet," she hissed. "We don't know how bad it is."

"It's not bad enough to kill me," I reminded.

"It's bad enough to where you can't stand," Ruth denied. "Now, lay still."

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll stay put." Ruth sat beside me with her legs crossed while we waited for the medical transport. I could sense a feeling of nervousness from her, but I had a hard time hiding the fact that I also had a hard time coming to grips that I was seeing her again. Fighting with her one more time brought back lots of memories. I reached to her hand and wrapped my own hand around her fingers.

"Ruth, listen," I begged. "What I said a year ago, I..." Before I could finish, she bent down to my face and kissed me right on my mouth. I hardly needed anything else to answer what I was about to ask. What Ruth and I had was still there.